Recipe For Homemade Enchilada Sauce (Red Chile)

Homemade Enchilada Sauce (Red Chile)

I am now living in the land of Real Mexican Food. It seems appropriate that I share with you a cheap, but delicious way of making your own red enchilada sauce. The base is not tomatoes, as might be supposed, but red chilies.

Buy a big (8oz) bag of dried red chilies (approximately 28 in a bag). Find these in the Mexican food section of your grocery store. I have found these in grocery stores all over the West. I don’t know if they are available in the East, but I am betting they are.

Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chilies. Cover with boiling water in a big bowl and cover for about 30 minutes. Remove about half of the chilies from the hot liquid and put them in a blender. Add 2 cups of the steeping liquid and blend until it becomes a thick red paste. Repeat with the remaining chilies and discard the rest of the liquid. Now this paste will sit in your fridge for a long, long, long time. It won’t mold, it won’t go bad. For a 9 X 13 pan of enchiladas, you will only need 1/3 cup, so you can freeze it in small in dividual portions. An 8 oz bag makes 5 cups. So you now have the base for 15 big pans of enchiladas.

1. Info for Homemade Enchilada Sauce (Red Chile)

2. Ingredients for Homemade Enchilada Sauce (Red Chile)

3. Directions:

  1. In a frying pan, make a roux with the flour and oil.
  2. Add the broth and stir until smooth.
  3. Add the red chili and herbs and salt.
  4. Simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.
  5. Proceed to make enchiladas as usual.

4. Tips and advices:

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